A week of growth and changes

My baby turned 12 this week, that means tomorrow I will sit in the congregation and see everyone raise their hand approving in his becoming a deacon. Deacons in our church are usually ages 12 and 13 which is a lot younger than most other Christian denominations. He will also be speaking in front of the congregation for just one or two minutes but again, it is a big change from 8 years ago when he would jump up and down and climb on the wall next to the pulpit (I was so afraid he would fall off it). I was also fully mortified until a recently returned missionary came up, gave me a huge hug and told me that he wished more people had my son's enthusiasm for being in church after all the little girls on either side of him fell asleep. I'm pretty sure that tomorrow, he won't be climbing the pulpit but he may be falling asleep.

As another milestone in our family, tonight my 14 year old is at his first school "social." It seems that when the Academy for Math, Engineering and Sciences first started and called the activities "dances" they found the majority of the student body didn't attend. Hmm, just imagine, no one from "Geek High" as they are commonly known showed up for "dances." Stereotypes, anyone? But if they call it a social and emphasize that it is food with music and a large space in the middle, everyone shows up. He's there tonight and in about 10 minutes I'll be asking him the questions my dad asked me after school activities. Did I mention that girls fall all over themselves to get this young man's attention? and he is just barely starting to notice that they do?

As a third item, I've received a new title at work. It won't show up on the org chart and I'm sure it won't be used by upper management but several of the people under me have started introducing me as the "Crisis Manager." Yep, it's my job to handle service recovery issues, calm everyone down and make sure the customer leaves feeling great. It's a wonderful chance to implement The Fred Factor.